Telemarketing
Telemarketing is the process of selling products or services over the telephone. It includes inbound and outbound commercial telephone calls. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general enforce telemarketing laws, including, but not limited to, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) in order to protect consumers from fraud and provide privacy.
FCC Publishes Final Single Seller Lead Generation Consent Rule in Federal Register
The Federal Communications Commission has published its new rule designed, in part, to close the lead generator loophole by amending the definition of “prior express written consent” for purposes of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Lead generators take note. With the exception of provisions relating to combating robotext sources such as text message blocking, the…
Read Article...FCC ADOPTS NEW RULE TO CLOSE THE LEAD GENERATOR ROBOCALL AND ROBOTEXTS LOOPHOLE
On December 13, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules designed to protect consumers from “scam communications” by directly addressing some of the “biggest vulnerabilities” in America’s robotext defenses and closing the “lead generator” robocall/robotexts loophole. The new rules allow blocking of “red flagged” robotexting numbers, codifies Do-Not-Call rules for texting, and encourages an…
Read Article...Lead Generation Industry to be Turned on Head: Proposed FCC Rule Requires Consent Must be Secured From a Single Seller at a Time
One of the key issues relating to the NPRM pertains to consent being sent directly to/obtained by one seller at a time. The FCC has now circulated its proposed rule. It has not been adopted yet but it looks like it will be in December when voted upon. It looks like the rule will become effective…
Read Article...FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Could be Existential Threat to Lead Generation Industry
The FCC recently proposed a rule that would turn the lead generation on its head. The proposed new rule goes quite a bit further than simply requiring wireless carriers to block texts from illegitimate numbers. See more, here. In addition to carrier investigation and blocking obligations, as well as an extension of DNC protections to text messages,…
Read Article...TCPA Established Business Relationship Defense Defeats Class Allegations
A TCPA defendant’s motion to strike class action allegations was recently granted by a Northern District of Illinois. The court held that individual questions of consent and the availability of the established business relationship defense made the claims unsuitable for class treatment. In the matter of Sorsby v. TruGreen L.P., 2023 WL 130505 (N.D. Ill.…
Read Article...The FTC, Lead Generation and Telemarketing Sales Rule Do Not Call Enforcement
The Federal Trade Commission continues to investigate and enforce violations of the Telemarketing Sales within the lead generation industry, including lead generators that “assist and facilitate” sellers or telemarketers that violate the TSR. Recent FTC Civil Investigative Demands to lead generators illustrate that the FTC may now be resurrecting the issue of the application of…
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